


life passes before our eyes.

by anamursia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bad Parenting, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Memories, Second War with Voldemort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:41:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29459934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamursia/pseuds/anamursia
Summary: Regulus is drowning, no one around to help him, and he wonders, even now, when it's difficult for him to keep fighting against the Inferi, if his life is going to pass before his eyes.Turns out it'd be just a second after.Or: Short memories of him before he dies.English isn't my first language, so, you can guess
Relationships: Regulus Black & Original Character(s), Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Regulus Black & Tom Riddle
Kudos: 6





	life passes before our eyes.

He remembers being 11 and seeing little Harry waving at him from the platform, himself on the train, looking at James, Lily, Peter and Sirius with tears on his eyes.

He didn't want to go, he had said that to Sirius the day before, "Hogwarts is beautiful, you'll be a gryffindor like me, and then you'll make a lot of friends" had say his brother leaving a kiss on his curls.

"I'll be a gryffindor right, Moony?" He said to his dad, _–Not dad, Remus wasn't his father he tells himself. He had tried once to call him that, but Remus only stared at him. It was Sirius the one who shut him down. "Remus is not that"–_ who sat next to him in the train, "Of course you'll be, Regulus"

When the sorting hat sat on his head, he begged, _please Gryffindor, please Gryffindor_ but the old thing only replied, at first just between them "Gryffindor is not the right place for you, Black. You'll achieve so much more in..." and then to the world **"¡Slytherin!"**

And he wanted to cry, his eyes already wet, preventing him from seeing Remus sitting at the teachers table, probably disappointed in him. _It's ridiculous,_ he thought to himself, _I deserve to be in Gryffindor. It's not fair._

But he only got up and sat on the Slytherin table, head held down while his new housemates clapped his back.

When he got to his dorm, he wrote an apology to his brother, for being sorted into the wrong house, and for failing him. He recieved a snort of laughter from his roommate, Tom, who was reading the letter over Regulus' shoulder.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked, feeling already defensive

"Why are you writing an apology?"

And Regulus thought it through, if he should tell Tom or not. They've only met. But he was his roommate, and maybe eventual friend, so he just said it.

"My family expected me to be in Gryffindor. And I got Slytherin. " he said

"But that's not your fault, is it?" Replied the taller boy, with an unreadable look on his face "It's not like they'll disown you or something"

And yeah, he shouldn't be apologizing for something he didn't have control over. Sure Sirius and the rest could live with it, maybe he was different after all.

"Yes. You're right."

Turns out. It was a big deal, because he didn't know anything from his brother until he asked Remus, "I'm sure he's just busy, Reg."

"He hates me, doesn't he?" He asked with a broken, thin voice.

"He doesn't hate you. Don't say that."

It didn't give him the comfort he expected. So when the day school was over, he cried on his bed with the curtains closed until he fell asleep.

The next morning Tom was nicer than normal, he even gave him a chocolate frog.

It went like that for the rest of the year, without news from Sirius and Remus dismissing his questions. The only good thing was Tom, because, yes. Regulus didn't have as many friends as Sirius told him he would, but he was fine with Tom, whom was quiet but funny, and awkward but nice.

It was when he went back home for the holidays when he realized, what being in Slytherin really meant to his older brother.

"I shouldn't be surprised, you really are a Black, aren't you?" Only gaining a ' _Sirius stop_ ' from Lily, but no one really intervened. He had cry. Of course. But not in front of his family, and when James went to ask if he was okay he pretended to be asleep.

He was happy to be back at Hogwarts, unlike the first time, he had someone to go to, a friend.

And then Harry was at Hogwarts too, and when the word "Gryffindor" echoed on the great hall, he felt almost sick, **"You just had to ask, Reg"** it's what Harry told him later.

On his second holidays at Hogwarts Tom asked him if he wanted to celebrate Christmas with him and his mother. Because Tom was smart, and saw how Regulus have started to feel about going home.

It made young Tom Riddle mad, how Regulus had to compete against Harry all the time, and how he always lost.

Sirius was hesitant at first, but Tom made it clear that he wouldn't leave without Regulus. And that made Reg feel better, because at the end of the day, there was someone who did preferred him over everyone else.

It was his third year when Astrea came by. And he hated her at first, because Tom started to spend more time with her than him, were they just studying?, yes. But he couldn't help feeling that Tom would prefer her over him.

But then she offered her shoulder for him to cry on, and listened to the things he used to keep for himself. It was Regulus at the end who became friends with her. _–Because Tom was very difficult, even when he obviously liked Astrea, he refused to talk to her outside the tutoring–_

And then, from his 3rd year to his 4th year, in just one summer, he was full of friends. Well, now he had six friends, instead of one, all very different from him, scandalous and loud. His brother would probably love them, but now, at his 14 years it was rare of him to talk to Sirius or anyone at the house, because Ilda and Ethan lived close, and he spent his time with them. No one really cared, Peter was the only one that asked where he went every day.

The rest of his years at Hogwarts were filled with laughter and hope. The seven _–Tom, Ethan, John, Ilda, Astrea, Celestine and Regulus himslef–_ of them chasing trouble and making pranks, healthy competitiveness between them  
_–especially in quidditch, since five of them played it, all on different houses-_ Enjoying the freedom and the youth they had.

Until the war started. And everyone started taking sides. Tom on Voldemort's, and the rest on the Order's. But they were young, and even when half their families were members of the order they couldn't be as involved as they wanted.

And him, what was expected of him was to join the death eaters. Same as Tom did, because Tom was his bestfriend, his brother, the only person he really had for many years before the others came.

Sirius expected him to follow Tom, because that what he's done all his life, but Regulus, unlike Riddle wasn't blinded by Voldemort's empty promises. Regulus was good, no matter what his own family thought of him.

He did joined them, at the end, to prove himself, to Sirius, and to Remus, and to James. He was a spy for the order, and the only people against the idea were his friends. John joined him too, because he said "If we can't talk you out of it, then I'll go with you", no one argued about him neither.

Then Astrea, Cel, Ilda and Ethan decided to flee out of their houses to help people go into hiding. Regulus assumed they felt bad about him and John being so close to the danger that they decided to do something themselves. He thought it was a stupid idea, for them to march into war so suddenly, being so inexperienced and naive. But he guess that's what they thought about him too. The only relief he really had was that he knew exactly were they were, filtering information for them to help people, Voldemort and his followers wanted to murder.

Then John was exposed as a traitor. He remembers that vividly, because Voldemort had ask him, Tom and Draco to kill him. He didn't want to, but John looked him in the eyes and told him that it was fine, that he understood and that he loved them, both Tom and Regulus.

He was going to, because it was better than leaving him to the others, they would torture him for sure, more than they already had.

But as he drawn his wand to the air, Tom interrupted, letting John escape and scaring Draco into lying about it.

Regulus felt proud, because that was the Tom Riddle he loved and grew up with.

And then he learnt about the horcruxes. And he knew it wasn't a good idea to do it himself, but the others couldn't help him because they had they own fights, far away for him. And he couldn't ask Tom. And he absolutely wouldn't ask Sirius, he didn't need him, or that he told himself then.

Because now as Regulus recounted his not long enough life, he wanted nothing more than to hold his brother one last time. He felt fear, and a sharp feeling of sorrow building up, as he started to feel his lungs emptying.

And then he felt **nothing.**


End file.
